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Bubble Bobble is based on the Taito arcade game from 1986 which ranks in the top 10 of best earning arcade machines ever. The C64 conversion was done by Software Creations, and originally released thru Firebird but since re-released in 1989 on Ocean's Hit Squad label. The runaway success of Bubble Bobble spawned a series of sequels including the excellent Rainbow Islands, and later Parasol Stars, Bubble Bobble 2, Bubble Symphony, and Bubble Memories.
In the first game we follow heroes Bub and Bob on their quest to free their girlfriends from the evil wizard Hyper Drunk, and to rid themselves of the spell that turned them into dinosaurs (this explaining why Bub and Bob are actually humanoids in Rainbow Islands). Luckily our heroes have been equipped with the magic power of bubble blowing thus enabling you to incarcerate any enemies on your way in a bubble of slime. Bursting bubbles containing enemies will provide food and magic abilities such as extra speed, longer bubble range or teleportation to other levels. In fact one of the key elements to Bubble Bobble is the wide range of different bonus items and the multitude of effects they provide. Some but not all of the original's bonus items have been included; you'll need the MAME version to have the full arcade experience. Bubble Bobble on C64 does however still provide the opportunity to play the game with a friend. This opens up for two distinct ways of multi player gaming, one slanting towards cooperative style, the other being a little more competitive where you race for every bit of on-screen food and items.
The gameplay is very varied with bubble airflow dynamics changing from level to level, incitement to achieve the longest bubble chain to gain bonus multipliers, and having the invisible Baron von Blubba chasing you around the screen once the timer's up, it's all part of the package. There's really few niggles about the game, maybe only the fact that it's a bit fiddly and of course slightly slower compared to other versions such as the Playstation or MAME version. A true classic.
Downloads: Music, Advert
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| GRAPHICS - 6/10 |
Fairly true to the original's somewhat limited but cutesy graphics.
| | SOUND - 6/10 |
Good renditions of the arcade ditties but it soon starts to grate a bit. Standard SFX.
| | PLAYABILITY - 8/10 |
Instantly playable. Lots of level variety and bonus items keep you interested.
| | OVERALL - 9/10 |
Blowing bubbles has never been this much fun!
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